Sigurd Ragnarsson the Serpent-Eyed - an image of a good-natured Viking, was little told about him in Old Norse songs and sagas, but spoke with love and enthusiastic trepidation about his illustrious parents.
Who is Sigurd Serpent-Eye?
He was the youngest son of the restless Viking pirate Ragnar Lodbrok, glorified in the sagas and songs of Scandinavia. Sigurd's mother is the magnificent Aslaug, the daughter of Sigurd, the slayer of the dragon Fafnir, who was one of the most impressive characters in the Scandinavian epic ("Song of the Nibelungs"). Such great parents simply could not have an ordinary child - and Sigurd Snake-eyed proved this by becoming one of the leading leaders of the Great Pagan Army, which for a long time kept the whole Christian world in fear.
It is noteworthy that the name Sigurd (the German version - Siegfried) in the Scandinavian language means "victory", and this was the great warrior who cruelly avenged the death of his father, who was captured and executed by Northumbrians.
Why was he given such a nickname?
The opinions of historians and researchers of the epic of Scandinavia differ when the discussion begins about why Sigurd Snake-eye (Sigurd Snake in the Eye) received such an unusual nickname. Here are some of the most compelling versions:
- The child was born with an eyesore in the eye, resembling the eye of a snake - hence the nickname.
- Sigurd Snake-eye had an unusual iris in one eye: around the pupil there was a ring resembling Ouroboros - a snake biting its tail.
- Ancient legends tell of a piercing and meticulous look inherent in all children of Ragnar, and his father too. Perhaps that is why the corresponding nickname was given.
- Modern researchers suggest that Sigurd Snake-eyed was the carrier of the rarest Pax6 gene, manifested in a partial or complete absence of the iris. Therefore, the look of the media was quite specific and frightening.
Biography
The life story of Sigurd Snake-eyed is little described in historical chronicles, and even in the folk epos he was rarely mentioned - most likely, his father's pathological desire to outshine everyone and everything with his exploits and victories affected. The son of Ragnar was supposedly born in Denmark in the ninth century; a more accurate date has not been established. Sigurd idolized his father and tried to be like him in everything, but, apparently, his inherent softness of character and love for his native land led him in a slightly different way than powerful ancestors. For the second part of his life, the serpent in the Eye lived in the Scottish Islands, having become famous as a good master and caring gentleman, he inherited from his father the lion's share of Danish lands and worthy of them rules, being a king.
From Princess Blaya, he had two children (according to some sources, four): a son and a daughter. Historians probably can not yet answer whether they were married according to the rules of the then existing faith, because Blya was a captive, since she was the daughter of King Ella, who executed Ragnar Lodbroka - the father of Sigurd. Perhaps it was he who granted her liberation by marrying her, because he was captivated by her beauty - the sagas are silent about this.
The Danish king died in 891, fighting in the battle with Ernulf of Carinthia, and was worthily sent to another world according to the traditions of his ancestors - burned at the funeral pyre.
Great ancestors of Sigurd
Knud The first Hardeknud was the son of the Serpent-Eye and the first king of Denmark, who united the lands into one state. He laid the foundation for the Knutling dynasty - the first in a series of noble inheritances of Danish lands. Knud the First was subsequently nicknamed the Cruel for his harsh and quick-tempered disposition
Gorm Old is the grandson of Sigurd Snake-eyed. He is the founder of the Danish monarchy, which is considered the oldest in Europe and the second in the world. Gorm was a zealous persecutor of Christians in his lands, worshiping only the ancient German gods Thor and Odin. Apparently, excessive zeal played a cruel joke with him - his son Harald, when he ascended the throne, immediately declared the Kingdom of Denmark as a Christian power, establishing a new faith in it.
Sigurd's daughter, Aslaug, gave birth to Sigurd the Deer, a powerful warrior who, already at the age of twelve, defeated 11 soldiers under the leadership of the berserker Hildibrand. It is said that the Deer was distinguished by incredible beauty, growth and mighty strength, some even claimed that he was the earthly embodiment of God.